Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a mold. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a mold and a method for getting a foot model thereof.
Description of Related Art
An ideal insole should be custom-fit which completely corresponds to the shape of a foot of a user under partial or full weight-bearing. One conventional manufacturing procedure for custom-fit insoles is using a plaster casting with an added insert to form the user-specific insole mold. Then, the manufacturer utilizes the insole mold to generate an insole corresponding to the foot. This conventional custom-fit insole manufacturing procedure is complex, thereby increasing the manufacturing time and the manufacturing cost.
Another conventional custom-fit insole manufacturing procedure is using a digital foot model of the user obtained via a foot shape capturing device. The foot shape capturing device works by capturing directly an image of the sole of the foot of the user without the sole contacting the ground or a weight-bearing surface. Then, a computer connected to the foot shape capturing device reconstructs the digital foot model via the image. The manufacturer then utilizes numerically controlled machining tools to generate an insole according to the digital foot model. Therefore, such conventional custom-fit insole manufacturing methods are usually expensive. In addition, when the user stands on the ground whether under partial or full weight-bearing, the shape of the foot and the sole will be changed due to the weight of the user and the user's stance. Conventional noncontact image-based foot shape capturing devices do not consider this change of the shape of the foot stepped on the ground and manual intervention by therapists to correct the alignment of the foot bones also intervenes the image capturing, so insoles manufactured using conventional methods cannot perfectly match the user's foot shape under weight-bearing whether with or without bone alignment corrections. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a customizable mold that enables low cost and rapid manufacturing of custom-fit insoles that completely match the sole of the foot under body weight-bearing conditions.